jharad17 - Whelp

Charlie Weasley was a good lad, enjoyed that Care of Magical Creatures class Professor Kettleburn taught, from what he'd heard. And he was a dab hand at Quidditch, too. His little brother, Ron, was cute as a button, if the button was red haired and gap toothed from missing front baby teeth.

After another hour, when Hagrid was down to snapping peas on his front stoop, the boys staggered over to collapse in giggling, tuckered out heaps in the shade nearby. Hagrid listened to them discuss Quidditch – Harry's knowledge being on the low end, no surprise, since he couldn't have heard of the sport before Professor Snape had taken the mite in, but Draco and Charlie both seemed to know quite a lot about current standings and statistics, and a lot of other facts that went clear over Hagrid's head. Ron was somewhere in the middle, very enthusiastic, but not very strong on facts, to hear his brother's objections.

Up close, it was easier to see Harry's face, and though he smiled at his new friends, there was something off in his expression. It took a few minutes of close observation to figure it out, and by then two House-elves appeared with a basket of lunch for the bunch of 'em. Harry invited Hagrid – and the elves! – to join them, but he knew they would not have brought enough food for a half-giant and so declined. The House-elves looked properly aghast at the very idea of sharing trenchers with the people they were serving. Hagrid did take a serving of pumpkin juice, though. He loved the stuff.

All the boys looked hungry, though Hagrid noted that Harry not only waited until the other lads had their sandwiches, crisps and fruit piled high before taking anything for himself, but once he did have a plateful, he laid down on his belly and wrapped one arm around the outside of his plate, clearly protective of his meal. The gazes he aimed at the bigger boys had grown steadily warier, even though the midge tried to hide it.

Hagrid decided to keep an eye on the lad, and if he didn't settle easier pretty soon, he'd mention it to the Professor. Odd how Snape had taken in the boy; but they both seemed glad of the arrangement. Going back to his peas, he watched the boys eat everything before beginning a rousing game of Exploding Snap, courtesy of a pack of cards pulled from Ron's pocket.

Harry jumped a span the first time the cards exploded, as if he'd been bit by a Horntail. But then he grinned and laughed along with the other boys, and the game started up again.

---

In the afternoon, under Nelli's watchful eye, the boys played chess in Harry's bedroom. Draco and Ron paired up, and Charlie, having admitted he knew less than nothing about chess, played against Harry. Their game dissolved into a "Pieces Fighting Match" at Harry's suggestion, and when their hoots and catcalls got too much for Draco and Ron, the "serious" game was moved to the sitting room.

Charlie grinned at Harry, who was feeling a little forlorn – and if he was admit the whole truth, a little nervous – at the abandonment. Charlie was a lot bigger than him, and older, too, and he probably could do all sorts of things with magic that would hurt. He was glad Nelli had stayed with him. She was currently sitting on a small chair by his wardrobe and watching him with a soft smile.

"Miss them, huh?" Charlie asked suddenly.

Harry stared at him and shrugged. It wasn't like they were far away, but he wanted to be their friends, not have them just be friends to each other. It felt almost like primary school again, with Dudders making everyone stay away from him and beating them up if they didn't.

"Don't worry on it. After this game, Ron'll be back right quick. He's a bit mental about chess, actually. Percy won't play him any more, and no one else even knows the first thing about it."

"Percy?"

"My little brother, just after me." At Harry's blank look, he said, "There's seven of us, six boys and a girl. First born is Bill, he's the heir, you'll meet him when term starts up again. Then me, then Percy, who'll be a Firstie in September. Then the twins, Fred and George. Ron's the youngest boy, and then there's Ginny. She's the baby." He pulled a face. "Except don't tell her I said that; she's six now; she'd kill me."

"I won't tell," Harry promised, smiling. Charlie was all right, he guessed, especially since he thought brooms and were really cool, and played Quidditch, too. Ron he wasn't too sure of; he tended to call "no fair" a lot when they were playing something, and Draco called him out on it, saying things weren't always fair in life and he'd better get over it. Harry knew that was true, and figured it was something Draco had learnt from his father, the way Harry had learnt from Uncle Vernon.

Charlie set one of his bishops out to clobber a couple of pawns. Harry quickly moved in a knight of his own to cover them, and maybe smash it with the rooks a bit, too. "So . . . how're you getting along with Draco Malfoy? I gotta tell you, it was a surprise to see him here."

"How come?"

"Well . . ." Charlie's ears reddened. "It's no secret that his father was a big supporter of You Know Who."

"Who?"

"You Know Who . . . I mean, the Dark Wizard who, well . . . er, . . ."

"Killed my parents?" Harry supplied helpfully. When Charlie just nodded, he continued, "Oh, I know that, about the Malfoys. Father told me."

"He did?"

"Mm-hm. Well, he said I had to be careful around them. But it's okay. Draco's my friend now."

"Uh –huh. It's good you're keeping an eye out." He smirked and sent a horde of pawns across the board to attack Harry's pieces, which were mostly unprotected, now that he'd moved all his rooks and knights. "Guess you should watch the game, too."

Harry laughed and finally brought his queen to bear, having held her in reserve. "Go get 'em," he ordered, and the board was soon littered with dust and little chunks of arms and legs. It was fun.

---

That night, after supper and showers and teeth brushing and a story, Father sat on the edge of Harry's bed and made a silencing around them. The night light Harry had brought with him from Spinner's End went through a rainbow of colors before he said anything, though. Harry grew a little uncomfortable under his steady gaze and squirmed away.

"Did you have a good day today?" Father carded light fingers through his hair, brushing it away from his forehead and the scar that Ron had asked to see, earlier. Harry leaned his face into the touch, glad he could have this time alone, sort of, with his father.

"Yes, Father." Harry gave him his best smile. "We visited Hagrid and played Sploden Snap and chess and Charlie told me 'bout dragons, and he wants to work with them when he leaves school."

"Sploden Snap?"

"It's when the cards all splode everywhere!" He jerked a little, realizing he'd been loud, and looked over at Draco, but his friend was resting peacefully. Then he remembered the Silencing.

"Ah. Ex ploding Snap. I trust no one lost an eye."

Harry giggled. "No." Then he frowned. "Can you, from E sploden Snap?"

"I very much doubt it," Father said, and his lips twitched a little, like they did when he found something funny.

"Good. Are Ron and Charlie gonna come back again?"

"Would you like them to?"

"Yes, Father. But maybe not till after I can use a broom again, 'cause Ron and Charlie both play Quidditch, too, and I'd like to play."

"I suppose we could delay it that long," Father said slowly, and his lips did that thing again. "Perhaps next week. They can come over and stay for a few days, like Draco is now."

"That'll be brilliant!"

"Hush, Harry. You're supposed to be settling down now."

"Sorry, Father. Are you gonna tell me another story?"

"No, Imp," Father said with an almost full smile. "I'm not going to tell you another story now. But I am going to start teaching you something that may help with your nightmares." He held up a finger in warning when Harry flinched away, suddenly apprehensive. "If it doesn't work, you are not to feel guilty about this, all right? It might not, but I think we should try."